Wheat, Corn Prices Surge on Ukraine Crisis

Wheat Futures Jumped 4.6% as Traders Worry About Exports

By

Tony C. Dreibus and

Neena Rai

Updated March 3, 2014 3:47 p.m. ET

U.S. wheat futures surged 4.6%, the biggest one-day percentage gain in more than 17 months, as traders fretted that Ukraine's escalating crisis will slow grain exports from the eastern European country.

Wheat prices jumped after Russia's military appeared to tighten its control of Ukraine's Black Sea region of Crimea. The tensions led traders to speculate that buyers of wheat and corn will shift purchases from Ukraine—one of the...